Her Scars
by TempeJill
Summary: Spoilers for Mayhem on a Cross. This is my take on what happened that night at her foster home and how Booth reacts to what was said with added scene on the end.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so after watching Mayhem on a Cross this needed to be written. **

* * *

Her hands clutched her arms as she entered the kitchen, and she sat down nervously at the table. Her foster father placed a plate of food in front of her, but she did not reach out to begin eating like any normal teenager would. Even though she was starving.

Josie, her foster mother, smiled at her in that fake way that she always did, and Temperance attempted to look somewhat happy rather than completely terrified. Her heart was racing and she was certain that if she took her hands away from her arms they would be shaking so hard that she'd never be able to hold the fork.

"Start eating," Wes told her in his gruff voice, "I didn't cook for nothing. And you're doing the dishes tonight, so don't go running back to that room of yours to do whatever it is you do."

"My homework," she whispered.

"Yeah, that. Grades don't matter to me; _I'm_ what matters. So make sure you don't leave a single speck on the dishes like last time. Remember?"

She nods rapidly, her eyes wide and her hands gripping her arms so hard she's pretty sure there will be nail marks later. Of course she remembers last time. It had been weeks before that black eye had faded away completely... and she'd started shaking so hard when the kid next to her in chemistry had asked her about it that he'd thought she might be having some sort of a fit.

She'd had to tell the nurse and her teachers that it was from falling and hitting herself on the edge of a table. She wasn't certain if they believed her, but the terror that they hadn't and they might ask her more questions was almost suffocating.

If only everyone would just leave her alone... if only her parents had never left... if Russ had stayed... no, she couldn't think like that! Wishing wouldn't help... and yet... sometimes she still stared at the phone in the living room when she passed it, just begging it to ring... for it to be her social worker, or her family... someone to tell her good news, to give her hope and keep her from this horrible fear that she now lived with day to day.

There was a warning glance from Wes, reminding her that she still hadn't touched the meal, and then she hesitantly pulled her hands away from her arms. She trembled as she picked up the fork and it clattered against the dish. She dropped it and hurriedly picked it back up from the floor, shaking harder than ever.

Josie and Wes ignored this and continued eating as though they were a typical family.

They were a normal family by most means... unless of course she didn't do something right... she was absolutely mortified about what would happen if she were to do something that really upset them. She'd been warned, many times, after the minor things. If she ever... if she ever were to really get them mad... more mad then they'd been so far with her...

She clutched the fork in a death grip as a fresh shiver crept through her.

She knew that she needed to start eating, that she needed to satisfy them, so she hurriedly skewered a piece of chicken and shoved it in her mouth. The tremors eventually went down as she got through the meal. When her plate was finally clear Wes dumped his on top of hers and headed straight for the living room. She heard the tv switch on to a football game. Josie left her plate where it was and headed off to her room, most likely to read.

Temperance got numbly to her feet and cautiously picked up the plates. She made it to the counter and set them down, a flow of relief stemming through her that she hadn't dropped anything, not even a fork. She turned the hot water on, and got out the soap and the scrubber, determined not to leave behind a single smudge on any part of the plates.

The water was scalding, and yet her hands still shook as though it was icy. She winced again and again as it burned her, but she could not stop. The soap made things worse... so slippery and dangerous... her hands fumbled with the towel as she dried to first and then the second dish.

She slid the third into the water and again singed her fingers. As she pulled it out to scrub off the surface the soap slid through her fingers and the porcelain fell from her grasp. It hid the edge of the counter, and her too-slow reflexes attempted to catch it but only aided its speed towards the floor.

There was a crash so loud she was certain the neighbors must have heard it, or perhaps it only sounded that way because the blood rushing in her ears was now almost deafening on top of it. She was immediately on her knees, desperately collecting pieces as though that could save her.

_No, no, no, no, oh please NO... _she thought, her terror becoming blinding as she heard the couch creak in the other room and footsteps headed for the kitchen.

She was sobbing now, and murmuring out loud what she had been begging in her head, "No, please no..."

Hands grabbed her shirt and hauled her to her feet. Tears were streaming down her face, and she cowered away from him and his furious glare.

"What did we warn you!?" he bellowed in her face.

She whimpered and another strangled sob came out, "Please, please..."

"First, you don't show hardly any interest in a meal I took such great time in preparing for our family, and then you don't even take proper care with Josie's dish set!"

"I'm sorry! Please, I'm sorry! The water... it was hot and the soap... I-"

He shook her hard and she stopped, unable to go on as another sob escaped her throat and she was overcome by a fresh wave of tears.

"She broke one of my favorite plates?" Josie asked, livid, from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, she did, sweetie. And I think she's going to learn a lesson from it about taking greater care with all the things we're so kind to provide her with. I'll take care of it."

"No, I can help. It was _my_ plate after all."

"Of course; you know what to..?"

"Yes." She was gone back up the steps.

Temperance was sobbing desperately, her eyes pleading. She found her voice, but it came out as a hoarse whisper, "Please... Please don't hurt me, please..."

He released her from his grasp but quickly spun her around. She was gasping with more sobs and the tears hadn't stopped. Her vision was blurry from all the moisture that had built up in them, but she was unable to wipe them away as he forcibly yanked her arms around and pinned them painfully behind her back. She gasped slightly, still murmuring her apologies and pleadings with growing desperation.

They were going to hurt her, she knew that. The waiting and the terror built up until she felt she could bear them no more. Finally footsteps signaled Josie's return, and the woman entered the kitchen.

Temperance whimpered softly as she heard the duct tape being peeled off the role, and then her begging got louder as she struggled to convince them that it was an accident... that it would never happen again.

"We warned you," he spat as the duct tape wrapped several times around her wrists. Then he grabbed her legs. She began sobbing anew as he bound her ankles together.

_"Please!"_ she cried, "Please don't hurt me!"

"Shut up," he snapped irritably. "Get the keys," he told his wife, and then hauled Temperance to her feet and began to drag her towards the door. She tried to fight back, to stop herself from being brought outside, but there was nothing she could do.

He stopped short before opening the door to the front porch, and turned to face her again, his face hard and angry. She flinched away, her blue eyes huge and terrified.

Then he pulled off another piece of duct tape and firmly sealed it over her mouth.

She squeezed her eyes shut, hardly able to feel the tears anymore as they trekked over the same paths as the ones before them.

The night air was cold and frosty, and the pavement was rough against her skin as he carelessly hauled her over the pebbles and gravel. Then he was lifting her and she dropped heavily into the trunk of his car. It reeked of moth balls and gasoline and alcohol.

Temperance managed to roll herself over to give him one last pleading look, crying out through the duct tape.

"You can't say we didn't warn you," he told her calmly, and then the trunk slammed shut and his footsteps accompanied by Josie's headed back into the house. When they were gone she just lay there in the painful silence...

She just lay there and cried into the night.

Lost. Alone. Helpless.

* * *

**So... what did you think? I don't know if I will continue this or not, I guess it depends on if you want me to. I'm considering jumping back to present time and writing Booth's POV on finding out about it... I don't know, though. **


	2. Trapped

**Okay, I couldn't just leave this story as it was; it needed more. So, here is chapter two!**

**Disclaimer: Incase anyone was curious, I do not own Bones or any of its characters. **

* * *

Her breathing was labored and she was racked with shivers. The night air seemed to seep in through the metal of the car itself, until it felt as though she'd been trapped in a refrigerator rather than a trunk.

_Why? _She thought, her mind only able to come to that one word over and over again. Other than that her senses were so overwhelmed by fear and cold that she couldn't think properly.

She tried to convince herself, whenever she could slow her thoughts down enough to actually consider something, that this would be over soon enough; they couldn't leave her in here. If they did she'd die, and they weren't murderers, just... just bad people.

But yet she couldn't keep that fearful idea away... the idea that perhaps they _wouldn't_ take her back out of here. Maybe they were so angry, or they just wanted someone to bully... so badly that murder would be justified in their eyes.

Her eyes were shining with more tears, but they weren't flowing freely anymore. She supposed it was because she'd already cried so much today. Hard to believe that only a few minutes ago she'd been just standing in the kitchen, washing dishes.

And now she was here, breathing in the horrible scents of Wes' car and trying desperately to stay calm and remain hopeful that maybe her life wasn't going to end here. What life, though, really? After all, her parents had abandoned her, her brother hadn't bothered to stick around for her, and all of the foster homes she'd been in had gotten rid of her claiming it 'hadn't worked out.'

Nothing ever worked out. Life wasn't meant to work out for her. She was never going to be anybody in the world... not with her background and her social problems... not with her clumsiness that had gotten her here.

She hated it; hated everything. She hated how no one cared about her, how she was like the world's punching bag; she was just someone who was there to be used and bullied. She was just an object to these people, nothing more.

She'd never be anything more.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if she just closed her eyes here and never opened them again, because tomorrow would be no better than today. Next week? Same story. In a few years? Nothing was going to change.

She was Temperance Brennan, a lost girl trapped in the midst of a hopeless situation. There was no happy ending for her.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but she was stiff and sore and the tears had dried to her face uncomfortably. Morning must be coming soon... surely it must be coming...

But she could see no extra light. Perhaps she wouldn't see any extra light; after all, the trunk could seal in such a way that sunlight wouldn't be able to get through the cracks. She hadn't slept at all, so great was her fear. Her mind had finally stopped racing, though, and her heart had slowed its beats down to practically normal.

Finally a sliver of light shone across her face and she knew that daylight had arrived. _They'll come out and get me soon_, she told herself, and she repeated it again and again as the time slowly passed, each slow second seeming to last an eternity. If only she had a clock to check the time on... but she didn't, and again she reprimanded herself for wishing for the impossible.

Surely it must be nearly breakfast... maybe later. Surely... surely... nothing...

The day wore on, and she could tell hours had passed by the change in the temperature and the brightening and later fading of the sunlight. Still there had been no sound from the house. She heard cars drive past... heard other teenagers ride past on their skateboards, laughing and talking about their weekends. She tried, once or twice, to kick the edge of the trunk, to scream through the duct tape... to make any sound at all that might save her.

The sounds of each passing faded as quickly as they came. No one even paused. No one even realized that the innocent car they passed by held a terrified, thirsty, starving, desperate sixteen year old. A sixteen year old who wanted nothing more at that moment then to be free of that trunk, free of that family, and just... just feel like she belonged for once.

It was something all of those people who's voices she heard had... that they had and took for granted every day.

Her hunger became a dull pang in her stomach, insistent and painful. Her thirst raged in the back of her throat and her lips felt parched and dry when she rubbed her tongue along the edges she could reach with the duct tape there.

Finally she could not fight her tiredness any longer. She drifted into a restless, nightmare filled sleep with the last sound she heard being a few teenage girls across the street talking as they strolled.

"...I know, I feel so bad for you, you're mother was such a jerk to not let you go to that movie with us!"

"Yeah I know, totally!"

"You're lucky, you're mother at least let's you buy all those sweet outfits, _mine_..."

She was shivering when she became aware of her surrounding again. Immediately she tried to cry out and struggled against her bindings before her heart rate steadied and her breathing slowed. She slowly remembered why she was here and how she'd come to be in the trunk. A few fresh tears spilled out, but she carefully kept it to a minimum. Sleep had done her body no good; she was still exhausted, and a fresh sobbing fit was certainly not going to help.

It was night again, that much was clear from the freezing air and the absolute darkness that surrounded her. From outside there was only silence.

Wes and Josie still hadn't come out to get her.

She'd been right, she thought, her heart beating faster again. They weren't _going_ to come get her. They were going to let her starve to death slowly in the trunk.

And it certainly felt like she was starving to death. Her stomach groaned relentlessly and she curled herself up tighter as best she could given how her arms were positioned. At least it was slightly warmer that way...

_Please, just let this not last forever... please..._ she thought.

Time slowly continued to pass.

Her stomach grumbled again, and she gagged as her throat forced up a cough that could not escape through her sealed lips. Only a few more hours... that was surely all that she could have left to live... just... a few more... hours...

Her eyes fought to stay open. Her shivers became less frequent. A few minutes later she lost the battle to stay alert.

In a small trunk there lay an auburn haired teenager with sparkling blue eyes, someone who wanted no more in the world than love. Love that had been taken away and never could be replaced. No one came for her, no one cared that she was passed out and dying.

Inside a small house a couple slept, completely carefree about the child they had bound and thrown where she now lay. They slept comfortably.

They did not care.

Temperance Brennan's pulse slowly faded away with every passing hour.

"I knew we should have dragged her back in here hours ago," Jodie said irritably.

"Yeah well I forgot," Wes said. "She's alive; she'll wake up in a little while. And I'm sure she's learned a lesson from that."

"That's one lesson I don't think she'll ever forget, Wes." She kissed her husband softly on the cheek. "I'll go make us some breakfast... Make sure she doesn't die."

"I got it covered," Wes said, sounding bored.

The limp body of their foster daughter lay on the couch, thrown there with little care. Wes poured more water down her throat.

She coughed faintly and stirred ever so slightly, gradually coming back.

She moaned as she forced her heavy eyelids to open. Another groan murmured through her lips as she tilted her head and felt the aching throb the action gave her.

Her whole body was sore and she very hesitantly moved her hands from where they were positioned uncomfortably underneath her. She was relieved to find they were no longer bound, although she winced in pain every time she moved either of her arms or wrists.

"She's awake!" Wes called loudly and then got up and left to head to the kitchen, his purpose served.

With him gone she nervously tried to sit up, her eyes now wide and terrified. She was alive, sure, but she was back in that house, back with _them_. They'd hurt her again... the next time she messed up. Her heart fluttered with fear. Every sound from the kitchen sent a tremor down her spine.

She got herself into a sitting position, squeezing her eyes shut and wincing with the pain of it. Her muscles were burning from the stiffness of spending the last two days in the same uncomfortable position.

But for the moment, she focused not on the fear, but on the fact that she was alive. She had another chance at finding hope and having a good life.

And she promised herself she'd do the best she could with that chance.

She _would_ make the best of her life.

* * *

**There will be more soon enough. We will see Bones' point of view on admitting this in Sweets' office as well as Booth's and perhaps I will even do a little extra after the episode about them discussing what they've been through. So... what did you think?**


	3. Trust

**I finished typing this up wicked late last night... I sort of lost track of the time because I got so into it. xD Anyways, this will be the final installment because I combined both their point of views into one chapter... Tempe's was too short on its own. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story, I'm so glad that all of you enjoyed it. (p.s.- ...Me? Nope, I don't own Bones, or the quotes from Sweets' office. They belong to FOX. Sad, isn't it?)**

* * *

_Temperance_

She followed Booth up to Sweets' office, running over what she was going to say in her mind, still feeling hesitant about it. But Booth was there, and she'd always intended to tell him about it anyways. She trusted him, and she'd come to have a soft spot for the young psychologist as well. She could do this... she could tell them.

She needed to, for Sweets, because he'd been through something awful too. Booth and Ange were always telling her to give a piece of herself in order to get something in return... so that's what she intended to do.

As Booth spoke and Sweets unshockingly turned down the offer to come to dinner with them she bit her lip nervously. When Sweets was done speaking and there was a pause, she saw her opportunity and she started speaking, the words tumbling out in rapid succession.

"My foster parents locked me in the trunk of a car for two days when I broke a dish. I was a very clumsy child... They warned me it would happen, but the water was so hot, and the..." she paused, forcing herself to continue, "soap was so slippery... But I still don't think it was fair, even though they gave me fair warning." She looked at Booth, not sure what he would think of her confession. There were tears in her eyes, and her voice broke slightly as she went on, "The water was so hot..."

"No, it wasn't fair at all," Sweets consoled her, "It wasn't your fault."

To the side, Booth looked just plain shocked. He glanced from her to Sweets, his eyes sad and pained.

She forced herself to respond when he asked her what she was doing, and he seemed to understand why she'd spoken up, even though the words she'd spoken had clearly upset him somehow. She told him it was his turn; he needed to help Sweets too, and she was pretty sure he'd tell about how he'd protected Jared from their drunk and abusive father, something he'd already admitted to her and Sweets already knew a little bit about.

He surprised her with something as shocking as what she'd admitted to him.

"Okay... if it wasn't for my grandfather I probably would have killed myself when I was a kid, and that's all I'm going to say on the subject matter, understand?"

She tried to keep the shock and the pain from showing. The idea that he'd been through something like that, that she'd almost not gotten the chance to even get to know him made her heart beat painfully in her chest.

Later, she would talk to him about it... if he wanted to. She could see it was a delicate subject, and he'd probably want her to talk to him about what she'd admitted as well. Maybe she could handle that, she thought, after all, he _was_ Booth, and she'd worked up the courage to tell him it... and it had felt good, too, to say it aloud and to him specifically. It might feel better to explain more of it to him.

Maybe it would feel good for him to tell her too. She wanted to take that pained look out of his eyes, of that she was certain. She'd do anything to just do that. To just take his pain from him.

Together they left Sweets office and headed back to Booth's place for supper. A family.

* * *

_Booth _

Booth led the way into the office. He went through with what he'd intended to do, and wasn't at all surprised when Sweets said no.

What did surprise him was when Bones' opened her mouth and words that made his jaw drop and his eyes soften in sorrow came pouring out. She rambled on, apparently unable to stop, or maybe just unwilling, now that she'd begun.

"My foster parents locked me in the trunk of a car for two days when I broke a dish. I was a very clumsy child... They warned me it would happen, but the water was so hot, and the... soap was so slippery... But I still don't think it was fair," she turned towards him as she said that, as though begging him to understand. Heck, she could have been saying anything at all and he still would have chosen her side... with her eyes so filled with the pain and suffering that she hardly ever let out. "Even though they gave me fair warning..." Her voice broke as she forced herself onwards, and there were tears in her eyes now. Her gaze flicked back and forth from him to Sweets, and there was almost fear there. Like she was afraid he might blame her too, like she was afraid he might react in a way that would hurt her. That look was as painful as a stab to his heart. "The water was so hot..."

He wanted to speak, but more so he wanted to just pull her into her arms and hold her warm body against his... let her cry those tears that she should never have been made to cry into his shoulder. It should be a crime punishable by death, making her cry or causing her pain. He wished he could take it all away, pull it all onto himself. It was almost selfish, that thought, because it would actually be _less _pain for him that way. He'd take torture over watching her suffer any day.

Sweets was speaking; he'd beaten Booth to it while he'd been lost in shocked thought.

"No, it wasn't fair at all." He seemed just as shell-shocked by her outburst confession as Booth was. "It wasn't your fault."

_I_ _should be the one saying that,_ Booth thought, a stab of guilt piercing him. She needed to hear from _him_ that it was okay, that it was those horrible creeps' faults, _not_ hers. Never hers. He'd hunt them down later, he promised himself. Stick them behind bars for what they'd done.

She was looking back at him now, her eyes still afraid and tear-filled. He forced himself to speak the first thing that came to mind. "Bones, what are you doing?"

_Idiot_.

She started to explain, and he sighed inwardly. God, when had she become so selfless? It made her oh so much more loveable... if _that_ was even possible, given how much of his heart already belonged to her... all of it...

_Knock it off!_ He snapped at himself.

"You're turn," she told him. _Whoa, say what!? My turn!?_

He stumbled for a way to get out of it. He didn't have anything to share... nothing that compared to hers or Sweets'... and then one flew into his mind. _Great_...

"Okay..." he started, giving in. She deserved this, his honesty, after she'd been brave enough to come out and tell him what had happened to her. Coming from her, that was an incredible feat, and he couldn't just do nothing when she asked him like that. "If it wasn't for my grandfather I probably would have killed myself when I was a kid, and that's all I'm going to say on the subject matter, understand?" He didn't want to go into more detail on that part of his life. It was something he shied away from, something he was ashamed of. He'd never intended to tell her... to make her see him as a scared kid instead of as the guy he was now.

But, again, she had that way of making him say things he didn't intend to. And she never talked about _her_ childhood either. He didn't regret speaking it aloud now that it was done, although the flash of sadness in her eyes did hurt. Unless he'd imagined it. When did _she_ ever give him a pitying look? It wasn't like her at all.

But what _was_ like her tonight? Sweets had phrased it pretty much perfectly.

He'd known the subject was far from over though, as they headed back to his place to eat the meal Gordon Gordon was making them. Sure, when they sat and joked like a real family together, commenting on the deliciousness of the retiring psychiatrist's cooking and just enjoying themselves, he'd been able to forget all about their sorrowful pasts.

That was the purpose though, wasn't it? Families were supposed to be there to support you and make you feel loved and like nothing else in the world mattered. All your worries were supposed to be able to vanish like dust in the wind with a simple smile from those you loved. And a smile from Bones certainly was his greatest remedy.

It was a relief, seeing her relaxed and back to her old self with her eyes their regular sparkling and beautiful blue, all traces of tears gone.

But he couldn't forget that they had been there.

And he couldn't get the agonizing image of a terrified teenage Bones', trapped in the trunk of that car for _two whole days_. He couldn't imagine what she must have been through... she had been a different person then, just like he'd been a different person at that age.

But neither of them were going back to what they'd been. Neither of them was ever going to feel something like that again. Or at least, he'd do everything he darn well could to make sure it didn't. He couldn't guarantee he'd never get beat up again, he was in the FBI after all... but she would never,_ never, _feel like she had back then ever again.

He would give his life to keep that from happening.

Although... that might possibly make her more upset. Given how hard she'd punched him at his funeral...

"Well, this was splendid fun," Gordon Gordon said with a smile and a nod to each of them. "Cheerio, then. I do believe I'm going to miss all of you terribly."

"Don't be a stranger, then," Booth told him, "Come visit whenever you like... we could do a good old barbecue, right?"

"Right you are. Good luck Sweets, I have a feeling you're going to have success with that novel of yours once you make those editing changes we discussed."

"Yes, thank you Dr. Wyatt," Sweets said. The younger man was beaming, practically glowing, as he shook Gordon's hand. Both men left together, continuing to talk amicably.

"I think Sweets is going to be okay," Bones commented when the door had shut behind them. "He certainly fit right in with us tonight. I actually really enjoyed his company."

"I enjoyed all of the company," Booth agreed. Specifically her, though, of course. He was certain he wouldn't really have been as relaxed and happy if she hadn't been present.

They stood in silence for a while. She made no move to leave, and he made no move that might make her do so.

Finally she broke the silence with the words that always hurt him. "I should get going."

He sighed inwardly. God, he hated it whenever she said that. "Yeah," he agreed simply, like a normal partner or friend might do.

She bit her lip, not actually heading to the door despite what she'd just said. He stayed where he was too, waiting.

"Sweets is okay..." she murmured after a while. "...are we okay?"

He stepped towards her, reaching out a hand to gently lift her chin so she was looking at him; she'd lowered her gaze, as though ashamed, to the floor.

"Hey, Bones, it's okay to _not_ be okay."

She frowned, as though she was about to object to the illogical way he'd phrased it, but he cut her off by steering her gently and very, _very,_ carefully towards the couch. He pulled her down next to him and she didn't resist. She was looking at him in that pained way again, and her beautiful eyes had once more lost that sparkle that he loved.

"You want to talk about it?" he coaxed gently.

She bit her lip again, and then looked away. Again he reached out and gently turned her face back to his with the touch of a single finger to her chin. There was fear in her eyes, and he felt that same feeling of a knife to the heart once more.

"Shh..." he whispered as a few tears formed fresh in her eyes. "I'm right here Bones... It's okay..." he pulled her into his arms and pressed his face into her hair, stroking her back gently.

She pulled away quickly a moment later, shaking her head. The fear had not gone from her eyes. "I was... I was so clumsy, Booth. I shouldn't have dropped the plate... they _told_ me I'd regret it if I wasn't careful, if I didn't do everything they told me..."

He wanted to wrap her in his arms again, but he held back. Clearly that wasn't the exact thing she needed right now. He used his voice instead. "Bones, it was _not_ your fault. _None_ of that was your fault. You understand me? You did _nothing_ wrong."

She was shaking her head long before he finished. "No, they warned me... I didn't think it was fair... but... they _warned_ me-"

He pulled her into another close hug, holding her very carefully, so that she could pull away whenever she liked. He wouldn't make her do anything she didn't want to, as much as he would have liked to just hold her like that for the entire rest of the night.

It took longer for her to pull away this time, but she did.

"Bones," he murmured before she could start up again, "Those people didn't deserve you; they don't deserve anyone, of course... but they _especially_ didn't deserve you."

"Why?" she murmured, "I was no different then any other foster kid, Booth..."

"Yes you were," he replied softly, "You were special because you're _you_. And you've got that same intelligence and spirit that I'm sure you had then."

She didn't argue, but he could read her thoughts anyways. She was clearly thinking that he was just saying that to console her... that he didn't mean it. God, how could he make her see that he _meant_ it?

"Bones," he started again, "You have a family now, you know. The squint squad are your family; they love you. Don't ever think you aren't loved. Things have changed since you were that foster kid... we've both changed since we were kids. I went through a lot... with my dad and my brother and everything... but I got through it with my grandfather. And you got through it because you're a strong person. You always have been."

"You're strong too," she replied softly. "And you have a real family, too."

He smiled gently for her, "Remember what I told you, about their being more than one kind of family? We _both_ have real families."

He was waiting for her mind to catch on, to point out what he was begging for her to see.

Another minute passed and he still was waiting with bated breath. _Come on, Bones.. please see it, please..._

Her eyes were thoughtful and a bit confused, and finally she spoke the words he'd been silently begging to hear. "We're both part of the same family, I thought," she murmured slowly, and there was a bit of pain there in her tone. _Yes!_ He celebrated silently.

He grinned wide. "I've been waiting for you to point that out," he said proudly, "Of course I'm part of your family, Bones." Her eyes softened with sudden relief, and he grinned wider. Maybe... "And I always will be. I'm never leaving you." He chuckled softly. "I actually don't think I _can_ leave."

She frowned again, perplexed, "Why not? Anyone can leave." God, she knew that so well, too...

"Not me."

"Booth, that doesn't make sense. Why on earth wouldn't you be able to leave?"

_Thank you!_ He aimed his thoughts to the sky. "You," he replied simply. An answer he'd been desperately hoping for a chance to say.

"Me?" There was a glimmer of understanding that vanished in a flash from her face. She obviously didn't think he'd meant what he was trying to say. He'd have to hurry this up, or he'd die from anticipation. He'd been trying to tell her this for _years_, for goodness sake...

"I could never leave you, Bones."

"Why?" her breath caught in her throat as she said the single word. He grinned even wider. The fact that all her questions were so short was giving him confidence. She _did_ understand, on some level, that if she kept asking on word questions he would tell her what she was waiting to hear.

_Oh please let her want to hear it... please don't let her freak out..._

"Because I care about you." Slowly, that's it... keep it slow... don't use the word love or she'll run for it...

"I care about you too," she replied slowly, still frowning slightly. "But that still doesn't-"

He leaned forward and she stopped midsentence, frozen as he paused, his face so close to hers that he could feel her breath against his skin and he was certain she could feel his. He was very careful, making certain that she wanted this, that he wasn't going to upset her.

She hesitated for less than a second before she leaned forward as well. And then he captured her lips. It was shorter than their Christmas kiss, but it was sweet and wonderful and somehow so much better. They stayed with their faces practically touching afterwards, and she was looking at him with a mix of relief, joy, and fear all swirling in her eyes.

There was silence. She was still waiting, and he knew what it was for.

"I love you," he whispered. "And _that's_ why I will never leave you." She opened her lips but he cut her off before she could begin, "I promise you, with all my heart, that I won't leave, Bones. Please believe me."

She hesitantly nodded, "I trust you," she whispered.

And that was as good as a return of his love admission, coming from her in this situation.

He leaned in and capture her lips again. The fear vanished from her eyes, leaving only the relief and the joy in its place. Then her eyes slid shut as she deepened the kiss.

* * *

_Temperance_

Temperance allowed herself to submit to her own wishes as she kissed Booth. She'd been holding in so long... _convinced_ so long by what had happened in her past and all throughout her life that love didn't exist, at least not for her.

But maybe... no, not maybe. It did exist.

And this was living proof.

She whispered gently as their lips parted for a brief moment, "I love you, too."

* * *

**Okay, so I don't usually write fanfics where they end up admitting love and all that, but I couldn't resist, because I felt that this event in the series is one of many pivotal events heading towards this. So, what did you think? Was the ending a good idea, or should I have left it at happy comforting fluff?**

**Thanks for reading!!**

**~Jill**


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